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Browse Plants

Narrowed By:Uses: Focal Point, House Plant, Roadside + Moisture: Dry, Adaptable
Displaying 1 - 20 of 54 listings   1 | 2 | 3View AllNext > Sort By: Sort
Acer rubrum Acer rubrum
(Red maple, Scarlet maple, Swamp maple)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This tree has lobed leaves that are green on top and gray-white beneath. It turns bright red in autumn. Its form can be round to open-headed.

Agave americana Agave americana
(American aloe, Century plant)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This plant has a rosette of broad sword-like, succulent, gray-green leaves. It provides a statuesque presence for sunny dry sites and under glass. It's also a classic plant for urns, thanks to the architectural splendor of its simple form.

Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima' Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima'
(Red chokeberry)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This is an erect shrub with lustrous dark green leaves that turn scarlet in autumn. It produces numerous white flowers tinged with pink, and abundant showy red berries that persist into winter (birds dislike the taste).

Aucuba japonica Aucuba japonica
(Japanese laurel)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Aucuba are grown for their bold foliage, autumn fruit, and adaptability to shade, dry soil, pollution, and coastal conditions. A. japonica is a rounded, evergreen shrub with small, reddish purple flowers in spring, and red berries (on female plants) in fall. It grows to about 10 feet tall and wide. 'Crotonifolia' has leaves that look like they were speckled with yellow paint. 'Gold Dust' is female with heavy yellow speckling. 'Mr. Goldstrike' is male, more upright, and has gold-splashed leaves. Use as a hedge or specimen, in a container outdoors, or as an imposing houseplant.

no image available Camellia oleifera
(Camellia)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This small tree from China can reach a little over 20 feet tall and about half as wide. It blooms in winter or early spring, bearing single white flowers that are fragrant. Grow this elegant shrub in a border or woodland garden, as a specimen, or in a container.

Canna × generalis Canna × generalis
(Indian shot)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Cannas bear broad, smooth paddle-like leaves reminiscent of banana plants. The oversize leaves make it easy to create dramatic combinations with other, more finely textured plants. Each stout, fleshy stem is topped with attractive spires of brightly colored flowers. Cultivars vary widely in height, foliage, and bloom.

Cedrus atlantica f. glauca Cedrus atlantica f. glauca
(Blue Atlas cedar)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This stunning evergreen conifer can be a very large specimen tree (to over 100 feet) in the landscape. Its young, silvery foliage turns vivid glaucous blue as it ages; the sharply pointed leaves are arranged in whorls. Female cones are green and can be up to 4 inches long; they ripen slowly over 2 years to pale brown. This tree needs a lot of space to reach its majestic potential.

Cordyline hybrida var. JURed 'Festival™ Burgundy' Cordyline hybrida var. JURed 'Festival™ Burgundy'
(Festival™ Burgundy corydaline)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This basal branching cordyline combines the rugged easy-care attributes of its cordyline cousins with an unusual mix of shiny dark color, compact bushy form, short stems and cascading grass-like leaves.

no image available Cornus alba
(Redtwig dogwood)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

These showy shrubs have two distinct phases of garden interest. In winter, they display boldly colorful bark—red, yellow, or orange—on twiggy stems to make a striking scene. In spring, the stems lose their vivid color and produce bright green, gold, or variegated foliage that accents the garden through the fall. Twig and leaf color vary according to the cultivar.

Cornus kousa Cornus kousa
(Kousa dogwood)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

A native of Korea and Japan, Kousa dogwood makes an excellent landscape tree and offers a long season of interest. Beginning in early summer, white bracts in sets of four (sometimes with pink tinges) surround tiny green flowers. These are followed by reddish fruit that resembles raspberries and attracts birds. Autumn color is a deep reddish purple. This species is resistant to dogwood anthracnose and has good cold hardiness. Grow as a specimen plant or in a woodland setting. It can be grown as a tree or large, multi-stemmed shrub.

Cotinus coggygria Cotinus coggygria
(Smoke tree, Venetian sumac)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This bushy shrub or small tree has generated many notable cultivars, all of which add great textural qualities to the landscape. It has 6-inch-long frothy plumes that appear after the flowers and give a long-lasting, smoky haze to branch tips. Its green leaves are smooth and rounded and produce brilliant fall color.

Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’
(Smoke tree, Venetian sumac)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This shrub or small tree has stunning dark red-purple foliage that turns scarlet in autumn. It has plume-like seed clusters, which appear after the flowers and give a long-lasting, smoky haze to branch tips.

Cotinus coggygria ‘Velvet Cloak' Cotinus coggygria ‘Velvet Cloak'
(Smoke tree, Venetian sumac)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This shrub or small tree has stunning deep purple foliage that turns orange-red in autumn. It has plume-like seed heads, which appear after the flowers and give a long-lasting, smoky haze to branch tips.

Cynara cardunculus Cynara cardunculus
(Cardoon)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Cardoon is an architectural splendor with bold texture, thanks to its large, prickly, almost dagger-shaped gray-green arching leaves and a statuesque, vase-shaped frame. It is topped with round, purple, thistlelike flowers in midsummer. Cardoon can reach up to 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide.

Dianthus chinensis ‘Ideal Crimson' Dianthus chinensis ‘Ideal Crimson'
(China pink, India pink)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Fringed flowers in shades of bright red with white centers open without fragrance in summer. 

Echinocactus grusonii Echinocactus grusonii
(Golden barrel cactus, Mother-in-law's cushion)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Golden barrel cactus has a rounded form that eventually elongates. Bright green stems bear 20 to 40 sharply angled ribs. Yellow areoles produce golden yellow spines. Bright yellow flowers appear in summer.

Fouquieria splendens Fouquieria splendens
(Ocotillo)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This southwestern native shrub grows to 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide and sports long, dull, spiny stems that green up and leaf out after a rain, followed by long, scarlet flowers that attract hummingbirds.When dry conditions return, ocotillo drops its leaves again. This cycle can replay several times a season. Great as a surprising specimen or forbidding hedge.

Gleditsia triacanthos Gleditsia triacanthos
(Honeylocust)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Honey locust grows in the wild from Pennsylvania to Iowa and south to Georgia and Texas. In the landscape, this large, spreading, deciduous tree is valuable for its elegant form and pinnate, ferny leaves that cast a dappled shade. Flowers are generally inconspicuous, but are followed by unusual large seed pods. Fall color can be a nice yellow, but leaves sometimes fall without noticeably changing colors. The species has a thorny trunk and shoots, but thornless cultivars are available.

Hosta 'Fortunei Albo-marginata' Hosta 'Fortunei Albo-marginata'
(Hosta)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Bold, large, shield-shaped leaves with a deep green center and creamy-white margins turn white with age. Funnel-shaped mauve flowers borne on leafy scapes 32 inches long appear in midsummer.

Hosta sieboldiana 'Elegans' Hosta sieboldiana 'Elegans'
(Hosta)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

'Elegans' is a large hosta with deep, smoky blue, slightly frosted heart-shaped foliage.  Deep veins give the leaves a corrugated look. White flowers bloom in early spring. Though slugs love hostas, this one is usually spared. -Sue Whetten, Regional Picks: Rocky Mountains, Fine Gardening issue #127


Displaying 1 - 20 of 54 listings   1 | 2 | 3View AllNext > Sort By: Sort